Nickel doped MoS2 nanoparticles as precious-metal free bifunctional electrocatalysts for glucose assisted electrolytic H2 generation

Hydrogen, as the one of clean energy source, has the advantages of high energy density and carbon-free emission. Water electrolysis is one of the most promising ways to generate hydrogen, but the rather high energy required seriously hinders its widespread applications yet. In this study, we report an alkaline electrolyzer to implement energy-saving H2 generation by coupling cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with anodic glucose oxidation reaction (GOR) other than oxygen evolution reaction, in which nickel-doped MoS2 nanoparticles (Ni–MoS2 NPs) has been developed as bifunctional electrocatalyst for HER and GOR. The electrolyzer only requires a cell voltage of 1.67 V to reach an electrolysis current density of 10 mA cm−2, about 270 mV lower than the corresponding value in the traditional electrolyzer. Electrolytic H2 generation with the assistance of biomass derived materials may open a new way for the future sustainable development.